Geographic Variation in Zebra Finch Subspecies
- 1 March 1991
- journal article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Emu - Austral Ornithology
- Vol. 91 (1), 2-11
- https://doi.org/10.1071/mu9910002
Abstract
Geographic variation in the Zebra Finch Taenio-pygia guttata was examined by comparing live wild-caught and captive T. g. guttata from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia and T. g. castanotis from the Australian mainland and confirmed by museum skin measurements of guttata and castanotis. (1) T. g. castanotis is significantly larger than T. g. guttata, as measured by wing length, weight and bill length. (2) castanotis have redder, darker, brighter bills than T. g. guttata. (3) T. g. castanotis males have larger breast-bands than T. g. guttata males, even when the size difference is taken into account, with strongly pronounced black barring on the throat and upper breast which are absent from T. g. guttata males on Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores and Timor. (4) T. g. castanotis produce lower frequency distance calls and the males differ from T. g. guttata males in having a noise part to this call. (5) The songs of captive T. g. castanotis males are lower in frequency and their song phrases are shorter, with fewer elements per phrase, than captive T. g. guttata males from Timor. In contrast to the differences between T. g. castanotis and T. g. guttata, little geographic variation was found within T. g. guttata on the four islands studied, although there was a cline of decreasing size in bill depth from west (Lombok) to east (Timor). The status of the two forms, T. g. guttata and T. g. castanotis, is discussed.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- Mate choice and pair formation in Timor and Australian Mainland zebra finchesAnimal Behaviour, 1990
- Song discrimination in female zebra finches and bengalese finchesAnimal Behaviour, 1989
- Song Learning in Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata): Progress and ProspectsAdvances in the Study of Behavior, 1988
- Variation in badge size in male house sparrows Passer domesticus: evidence for status signallingAnimal Behaviour, 1987
- Bill Color Preferences of Zebra FinchesEthology, 1987
- Verhaltensbedingte Isolation zwischen den beiden Rassen des Zebrafinken(Taeniopygia guttata)Journal of Ornithology, 1984
- Developmental determinants of structure in zebra finch song.Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 1979
- Inter‐ and Intraspecific Variation in the Calls of Three Species of Grassfinches of the Subgenus Poephila (Gould) (Estrildidae)Zeitschrift Fur Tierpsychologie, 1975
- Infraspecific Variation in the Australian FinchesEmu - Austral Ornithology, 1958
- Timor and the Colonization of Australia by BirdsEmu - Austral Ornithology, 1944